Tens of thousands of Scottish council workers back strikes over pay dispute with COSLA

Scotland’s largest local government union UNISON says tens of thousands of council workers have voted in favour of strike action.

The proposed industrial action comes amid a dispute over pay, after local government employer body COSLA offered all council workers in Scotland a 3% increase for 2025-26.

The union says more than 92% of those who took part in a consultation are in favour of striking.

UNISON Scotland’s local government committee will now meet to discuss its next steps in balloting its members formally over strike action.

Chair of UNISON Scotland’s local government committee Colette Hunter said: “The last thing anyone wants to do is take strike action.

“But local government workers deserve a fair increase to stop their pay lagging behind inflation and other sectors of the economy.

“This result should be a wake-up call for COSLA. It needs to reward council workers fairly for the essential services they provide and start to reverse years of pay cuts.

“Workers have seen the value of their wages fall over the past ten years, while often being asked to take on even more work to cover for vacant posts in their teams.

“Councils provide vital services to their communities by caring for the most vulnerable, educating children, collecting waste and recycling, and keeping people safe. Council workers deserve better.”

UNISON Scotland local government lead David O’Connor said: “Inflation, energy and council tax rises mean this offer is effectively a wage cut.

“Strike action is always a last resort, but local government workers deserve to be paid fairly for the vital work they do.

“COSLA and the Scottish government must get back around the table with a fair pay offer that recognises the essential contribution council workers make in the community.”

A COSLA Spokesperson said: “In February COSLA made an offer of 3% to the Scottish Joint Council (SJC) unions representing the majority of the Scottish Local Government workforce.

“This was rejected by the unions without giving their members an opportunity to vote on the offer. Instead, the unions have chosen to ask their members to consider industrial action in pursuit of a higher pay offer.

“Our current offer, which was made before the settlement date, and remains on the table, fully utilises the available funding and represents a balance between making an offer aligned with the current CPI rate of inflation and protecting services and jobs.

“We must be clear that the current offer is not without challenges for councils struggling to balance budgets.

“We implore our unions to properly consult their members on pay offers rather than immediately seeking to escalate to damaging industrial action in pursuit of unsustainable levels of pay that would result in cuts to services and higher taxes.”